Ride-sharing company, MyCar, calls for better driver safety

The current information on users who register with e-hailing apps is inadequate. — filepic

AN E-HAILING application company wants to strengthen its user registration system to improve the safety of its drivers.

MyCar, which started operations in February, has more than 30,000 registered drivers and 500,000 registered users in its database.

So far, MyCar has successfully handled more than one million bookings while providing satisfactory income to its drivers.

However, MyCar founder Mohd Noah Maideen said their drivers were vulnerable to various risks, such as crime and abuse of the e-hailing application among certain irresponsible users (passengers) of various backgrounds.

“There have been occasions where drivers were attacked and cheated by passengers,” he said in a press statement.

Apart from that, he said, there were circumstances where the passengers opted not to pay the fees and messed up the cars while some engaged in immoral acts.

“The most recent is the death of an e-hailing driver which may be related to a crime against the driver,” he said.

For the record, he said, MyCar had once suggested to several parties to coordinate and update the e-hailing platform’s users’ accounts in Malaysia.

This would require the registration of users’ critical and valid information during the user account registration process on the application.

The critical information it proposed to include are particulars like the user’s identity card (for citizens), passport number (for non-citizens), cell phone number verified through an SMS password, email address and the uploading of the user’s international passport or identity card through the e-hailing application to be stored in the e-hailing operator’s database.

Currently, he said, only particulars consisting of name, e-mail and phone number are entered for the registration of the e-hailing user’s account.

“MyCar observed that this information is inadequate and vulnerable to fraud and misuse of the e-hailing application,” he said.

Therefore, MyCar will try its best to tighten the registration of passengers to be more comprehensive in its system, he said.

Furthermore, he said MyCar will also continue to work with the transport authorities and Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) to create a more efficient, safe and secure environment for the e-hailing industry which would benefit all parties.

MyCar hopes that the user registration system for the e-hailing application will be co-ordinated like its driver registration system, which will be streamlined soon.

Finally, MyCar expects the e-hailing industry in Malaysia to be more balanced, competitive and expand in a healthier manner between the users, drivers, e-hailing operators and law enforcement authorities.

“MyCar will try to meet the demands of its users and offer more capable and friendly drivers as well as comfortable vehicles,” said Mohd Noah.

"MyCar will also adhere to all guidelines that must be followed by e-hailing operators and follow all guidance issued by the related government agencies such as APAD and Road Transport Department,” he added.